Local P-TECH in planning stage

NEW PALTZ — Hundreds of mid-Hudson students will get a shot at well-paying tech jobs right out of high school if the regions's P-TECH program takes shape.

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By Pauline Liu

recordonline.com

By Pauline Liu

Posted Oct. 9, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Pauline Liu

Posted Oct. 9, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

NEW PALTZ — Hundreds of mid-Hudson students will get a shot at well-paying tech jobs right out of high school if the regions's P-TECH program takes shape.

School officials took the first steps toward that goal on Tuesday at Ulster BOCES offices in New Paltz.

For the first meeting of the program's steering committee, the room was full with more than 30 participants from the region's schools and industries.

P-TECH stands for Pathways in Technology Early College High School. The six-year tuition-free STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program is for at-risk students in grades nine through two-year college.

It would enable them to graduate with not only a high school diploma, but also an associate degree.

It's set to launch on July 1, 2014.

While the project is led by Ulster BOCES, the program would serve 120 students in four counties — Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster.

"Out of the 120 seats, they'll be allocated based on enrollment," said Charles Khoury, Ulster BOCES superintendent. It looks like there will be 37 seats for Dutchess, 53 for Orange, eight for Sullivan and 21 for Ulster.

Khoury said the project is geared for students who weren't planning on college.

If they're able to complete the program, they'll be eligible for "high-wage, high-skill and high-demand" opportunities.

If this P-TECH sounds somewhat familiar, perhaps it's because a similar program got underway in Newburgh last month in partnership with IBM. Students there will specialize in information technology.

The Newburgh School District and Ulster BOCES were among the 16 winners recently selected in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's statewide P-TECH competition. Cuomo wants them to replicate the success of IBM's P-TECH in Brooklyn, which is now in its third year.

For the mid-Hudson project, the challenges are massive.

It will begin with more than double the enrollment of the Newburgh program. It will work in partnership with many more participants, including the Hudson Valley Council of Industry, the Kingston School District, SUNY New Paltz and a regional consortium consisting of BOCES and community colleges from each of the four participating counties.

How the committee goes about selecting students still needs to be decided, Khoury said. Students will need classrooms in their respective counties and opportunities to come together. They will need specific industries to work with.

One of the immediate challenges is to figure out how to stretch the $2.6 million state grant over seven years.

"We have enough for a principal, laptops, some transportation and teacher training, but we're looking for other funding," said Bonnie Meadow, grant writer for Ulster BOCES.